Excavating mechanism



LSQLMZ L5?. QGY L.. DEAN EXCA'VATING MECHANISM s'sheetssneet 1 July 28, 1931 Filed J INVENEOR @ein 4&3, 13932, L E ROY L DEAN gkg EXCAVAT I NG MECHANISM Filed July 28, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 3e am ,g4/LMV (flo TTORNEY WTNESS WWW/wif Patented Dec. 13, 1932 UNITED STATES LE ROY L. DEAN, OF LONG'VIEW, TEXAS EXCAVATING MECHANISM Application filed July 28, 1931. Serial N0. 553,632.

My invention relates to excavating and grading mechanism particularly adapted for leveling hills and embankments and filling the depression or valleys adjacent thereto.

lt is an object of the invention to provide an endless conveyor mechanism including excavating elements which will operate to excavate the dirt and convey the same tothe point of deposit.

Another object of the invention is to provide an efhcient supporting and driving mechanism for the endless conveyor and excavating elements.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved excavating element and an improved guide mechanism therefor during the digging operation.

Still another object is to provide an adjusting means for said guide mechanism whereby to regulate the depth to which the excavating elements penetrate at each operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for automatically discharging the dirt from the excavating elements at the point of deposit.

A still further object of the invention is to provide mechanism of this character which will be suliciently strong to withstand rough usage, which will be relatively simple in construction so as to be readily manufactured and one in which the various parts may be replaced or repaired without afl'ecting'the remaining parts. f

Other objects and advantages of the invention not specifically enumerated will become apparent during the course of the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an embodiment of the invention, showing the mechanism in operation; f

Figure 2 is a top plan view of a portion of the device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged view in elevation of a portion of Fig. 1

Fig. 4i is a side elevation of one of the cable supporting members;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of a portion of one of the excavating elements taken on the line 55 7 7 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of a detail of the device;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of one of the excavating elements and the guide means therefor;

Fig. 10 is an end view of said guide means;

Fig. 11 is an end elevation of one of the terminal cable supporting members, with the base thereof in cross section; and

Fig. 12 is a top plan view thereof.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout the same, the invention by way of example is shown in operation between two hills or elevated embankments 15 and 16 with a valley or depression 17 therebetween, and engaged in the operation of cut.- ing down the hill 16 to fill in the valley 17 With particular reference to Figs. 1 and 2, the main parts of the invention may be broadly referred to as comprising a pair of terminal supporting members in the form of rotatable wheels or pulley members 19 and 2O located one each on the hills 15 and 16 o respectively and having an endless driving cable 21 trained therearound.

The cable 21 carries a plurality of excavating and conveying elements or buckets 22 for cutting down the hill 16 and transporting the dirt into the valley 17. An adjustable and movable guide means 23 is provided at the point of digging for properly disposing and guiding the buckets during the actual digging operation, the buckets being loosely o connected to the cable.

A plurality of cable supporting members 24 are located at spaced intervals between the terminal supporting members 19 and 20 and serve to support the iiights of the cable in elevated position above the floor of the valley 17 so that the buckets 22 will be suspended in midair except when they are removing dirt from the hill 16.

An adjustable trip mechanism 25 adjustably supported between two of the cable supporting members 24 causes the buckets 22 to deposit their load of dirt at any desired s ot.

pThe details of construction of the various parts of the invention broadly referred to above will now be described with particularity.

The spaced terminal for cable return members 19 and 2O about which the endless cable 21 is trained, comprise an upright rotatable supporting shaft 26 journalled between a bearing seat 27 and a bearing cap 28 which are carried by the frame of an ordinary tractor 29. The bearing seat 27 is carried by the outer end of a supporting arm 30 which extends forwardly from the tractor frame and is secured thereto in any suitable manner. The bearing cap 28 is carried at the upper end of an inclined guy, pole or brace 31, also having its other end secured to the tractor frame in any suitable manner. In order to provide a more solid foundation for the shafts 26 during the operation of the device, concrete or other base members 32 are provided, each having a depression 33 in the upper face thereof for the firm seating of the bearing seat 27. It will thus be seen that the entire terminal mechanism may thus be readily moved about but still be quickly provided with an exceptionally solid support at the point of operation. Suitable guy wires 34 having one end secured to the bearing cap and the other end anchored to the ground may also be provided to further steady the terminal members.

The shaft 26 is positively driven from the tractor through the medium of a rotatable shaft 35 mounted in bearing supports 36 carried by the arm 30. The shaft 35 is driven from the tractor motor in any suitable manner. The outer end of the shaft 35 carries a bevel gear 39 which meshes with a bevel gear 40 keyed on the upright shaft 26.

A cable return member or pulley wheel 41 is mounted fast upon the shaft 26 and comprises a hub 42 fast on said shaft 26 and a plurality of radially extending spoke elements 43 carried by said hub. A rim member 44 is lnounted upon the upper faces of the spokes 43 concentrically of the shaft 26. The rim 44 comprising an upstanding annular flange 45 and an inwardly directed flange 46 resting upon and secured to said spokes 43. The spokes 43 are considerably longer than the radius of the rim 44 so as to extend beyond the periphery thereof as at 47, forming a support for the cable 21 as it travels around the flange 45 of the rim 44. Suitable braces 48 extend between the spokes 43 and a hub 49 on the shaft 26 below the hub 42.

The spaced cable supporting members or towers 24 intermediate of the terminal members 19 and 20 each comprises a stationary upright pole or shaft 50 the lower end of which may be sunk into the ground and which may be suitably braced by means of guy wires 51.

A pair of cable supporting elements 52 and 53 are carried in vertically spaced relation on each of the shafts 50. As the elements 52 and 53 are substantially identical in construction, a detailed description of but one of these elements will be suh'icient for all. Each of these elements includes a horizontally disposed circular ring 54 of U-shape in cross section and including a plurality of rollers 55 in the bight portion thereof, the rollers 55 being mounted upon axles 56 extending between the sides 57 and 58 of said ring. The ring 54 is supported concentrically of the shaft 50 by means of suitable spacer arms 59 and braces 60, the arms 59 radiating from a hub 61 which iskeyed or otherwise secured to the shaft 50.

v A rotatable annular guide member comprisingvertically disposed concentrically spaced walls 63 and 64 connected by top and bottom walls 65 and 66 respectively. The bottom walls 66 rest upon the rollers 55 and form a track for said rollers during rotation of the guide member. The sides 63 and 64 are provided with depending flanges 67 which extend below the upper edges of the sides 57 and 58 of the ring 54 so as to prevent lateral displacement of the guide member 62 during its rotative movement on the rollers 55.

A plurality of radially disposed riser arms 68 are carried by a hub 69 rotatable about the shaft 50 between a pair of bearing collars 70. The riser arms 68 are pivotally connected at their inner ends to said hub 69 as at 71 and extend radially outwardly therefrom through alined guide slots 72 in the walls 63 and 64. It will thus be seen that a vertical swinging movement of the arms 68 is permitted during rotation of the guide member 62 and it will also be seen that the arm 68 will rotate with said guide due to the fact that said arms extend through the guide slots thereof. A cam track 73 extends approximately half way around the ring 54 and is rigidly secured thereto by suitable fastenings such as the a-Xle members 56. The cam track 7 3 has its highest point 74 inter mediate of the ends thereof and is gradually tapered off from said point toward said ends until said track at the ends is approximately level with the lower ends of the guide slots 7 2. Each of the riser arms 68 has a roller 75 journalled thereon adapted to engage the upper edge of the cam track 7 3 during rotation of said arms and the guide members 62 so that said arms will rise and fall during rotation thereof. Each of the arms 68 protrudes beyond the outer wall 64 of the guide 62 as at 76 for supporting the cable 21. It will be seen from an inspection of Figs. 4 and 6 that the arms 68 will be inclined downwardlater.

-ly at one side of the guide member 62 and that as they move to the other side during rotation, the outer ends of the arms will be raised due to contact of the rollers 7 5 with the cam track 73 until they assume an upwardly inclined position when they reach the uppermost point 74 of said cam track.

The upper and lower flights 77 and 78 respectively of the cable 21 are crossed between the respective supporting towers 24 so as to travel around opposite sides of the guide members 52 and 53 respectively of adjacent towers. rlhe respective flights 77 and 78 also cross each other between the supporting towers so that while the upper flight Vengages on one side of one of the' supporting members 52, the lower flight will be engaged on the opposite side of the supporting member 53 therebelow. The cam track 73 is disposed on the side of the particular guide member that will be engaged by the cable 21 so that during the tra-vel of the cable and rotation of the guide member, the swinging arms 68 will consecutively be raised into cable engaging and supporting position and the cam track will be so positioned that the arms will reach their highest position when they are disposed approximately at right angles to the cable sol that from this point they will begin to lower and consecutively disengage the cable as it travels on to the next supporting tower. The cable supports are rotated by friction from cable 21.

Referring new to Figs. 3, 9 and 10, the eX- cavating buckets and the mechanism for controlling the same during the actual digging operation will now be described. Each of the buckets 22 is preferably formed of sheet metal and of substantially rectangular form in cross section with anopen forward or upper end 80. rll'he ground engaging` wall 81 is provided with a serrated forward edge 82 to facilitate dislodgement of the dirt during thedigging operation. The bottom of the bucket is composed of two inclined sections 83 and 84, the section 84 being a hinged door or closure which is hingedly secured to the rear or lowerv edge ofthe upper side ofthe bucket. The door 84 has its free edge normally maintained in closing engagement with the portion 83 of the bucket by means of a spring latch 86 which engages a detent 87 on .said bottom portion 83. The latch 86 is provided with a depending trip arm 88 for a purpose to be described The side walls 89 are formed with longitudinally extending ribs 90 which extend out from said sides and extend from the upper end toward the bottom of the bucket. The bucket is formed wider adjacent the ground engaging wall thereof so as to produce shoulders or ledges 91 at each sidewhich are spaced from the ribs 90 and are substantially parallel thereto. The bucket 22 is provided with a bail 92 which is loosely secured to the cable 21 as at 93.

channels 98 are provided with flared forward ends as at 99 to facilitate entry of the ribs 90 therein and the chute 94 is also provided with flared guide means 100 for guiding said bucket into the chute. The lower edges 101 of the walls 96 of the chute 94 are adapted to engage the shoulder or ledge 91 on the bucket 22 during the passage of the bucket through said chute. It will thus be seen that the buckets 22 will be caused to assume the .same angular position as the guide channel 98 and the lower edges 101 of the walls of said chute. rl`he top 97 of the chute is provided with a channel 102 in which is journalled a plurality of pulley wheels 103 for engagement with the cable 21 during its passage through said chute. The guide chute 94 is supported at its inner end by a pair of reciprocable inclined arms 104 which extend forwardly from the tractor 95 and which are provided with toothed racks 105 on their inner ends, their other ends being pivo-tally secured to the inner ends of the guide at opposite sides thereof.

Pinions 106 driven from the tractor 95 engage the racks 105 to accomplish movement thereof in either forward or rearward direction. ported on rollers 107 carried by straps 108 suspended from the shaft of the pinions 106. A vertically disposed standard 109 is mounted upon the tractor frame and carries a pair of gears 110 and 111 which are keyed to a i shaft 112. The gear 110 is driven thro-ugh a medium of a chain 113 from a power takeoff gear 114 of the tractor. rlhe chute 94 is provided with a pair of upstanding ears 115 between which the lower end of the inclined arm 116 is pivoted. The upper end of the arm 116 is formed with a rack 117 which is held in engagement with the gear 111 by means of a strap 118 so that upon rotation of said gear, the lower end of the arm 116 and thus l they outer end of the chute 94 will be moved up or down so as to vary the inclination or the depth to which the bucket 90 will enter the ground. By mounting the guide chute on a tractor such as 95 the digging operation may be carried forwardly without affect-ing the position of the remainder of the mechanism by simply moving the tractor to the point at which it is desired to have the buckets operate.

The. trip mechanism 25 for dumping the dirt from the loaded buckets after their passage through the chute 94 comprises a vertically adjustable bar 120 which is mounted between two of the posts 50 as indicated in The inner ends of the arms 104 are supl Figs. 1, 4 and 8. The bar 120 is provided at each end with a hook 121 which engages the post 50, each et the hooks 121 having a threaded shank 122 which extends through the bar 120 and is provided with a wing nut 123. It will readily be seen that tightening of the Wingnut 123 will force the bar 120 against the pest thereby locking said bar in adjusted position. .Atrip rod 124 carried by a collar 125 which is slidably adjustable on the bar 12() extends from said bar at approximately right angles and is adapted to engage the trip arm 88 ot the bucket latch 8G so as to dump the contents of the bucket 22. The collar 25 is provided with a set screw or bolt 126 whereby the collar and rod may be locked in any adjusted position for dumping the buckets. As will be obvious from Fig. l the loaded buckets are carried by the lower flight 78 of the cable 21 and the empty buckets ar carried by the upper flight 77 thereof. It will also be noted that sulilcient space is provided between the guide members 52 and to per mit crisscrossing of the cable flights without allowing the empty buckets of the upper 1li ght to strike against the lower flight of the cable.

It will be note-d from Figs. 8 and 11 that the tractors 29 and 95 have bent axles 29 so that the tractor 29 may be moved over the base members While the buckets 22 may be passed through the guide 29 and beneath the tractor. The cable 21 is adapted to be disposed below the tractor body and may be maintained in position by the usual type of pulleys (not shown).

In operation after the various parts of the mechanism have been assembled as shown in Fig. 1, the tractors 29 are operated to drive the terminal cable supporting members 19 and 2O to cause the cable 21 with the buckets 22 carried thereby to travel around the terminal wheels 41 and the intermediate'cable supporting members 52 and 53. As each of the buckets 22 enters the guide chute 94 earried by the tractor 95, the forward edge 82 thereof will dig into the ground thereby loading the bucket. After the bucket 22 passes through the guide chute 911 it will pass beneath the tractor and then will be grad` ually raised oil the ground and suspended in midair due to the fact that the lower liight 78 of the cable 21 is trained around the cable supporting members 53. The tractor 95 must be specie-.lig7 built to permit the bucket to pass beneath the same. Then the buckets 22 reach the point at which the dirt is to be dumped, the trip rod 124 will engage the trip arinSS thereby releasing the door 811 and allowing the dirt to be discharged from the buckets by gravity. rlhe buckets will then travel on around the next terminal member 19 and will then be suspended from the top flight 77 of the conveyor which is trained around the supporting members 52. Having traversed the distance from the terminal 19 to the terminal 20, the buckets will then again come in contact with the surface of the hill 16 to repeat the digging operation. It will be noted that the closure S4 will be automatically closed and locked as soon as the buckets contact with the ground due to the fact that said closure is hinged trom the upper side of the bucket. The cycle of operation is thus continuously repeated until the hill 1G has been cut away the desired amount, the tractor 95 being moved up and down and to one side or the other as the digging operation progresses. Due to the fact that the cables are crisscrossed between the intermediate supporting members 2-1 the tractor 95 carrying the guide chute 9-lmay be moved laterally of the line of travel of the cable a considerable distance on either side thereby allowing the device to cut a wide swath out ot the hill 16 before it becomes necessary to move the terminal member 2O to one side or the other.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that various changes in the details of construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus of the character described, a pair et spaced terminal pulley inembers, drivingmeans therefor, an endless element trained around said terminal members, a plurality of excavating elements loosely connected to said endless element, means intermediate of said terminal members for supporting the flights of said endless element in vertically spaced relation, and a movable guide means for positively disposing the excavating elements in excavating position.

2. In an apparatus of the character' described, a pair of spaced terminal pulley members, driving means therefor, an endless clement trained around said terminal members, a plurality of excavating elements loosely connected to said endless element, means in termediate of said terminal members for sup porting said endless'y element in raised position, and means for disposing said excavating elements in ground engaging position at a predetermined point in the cycle of operation thereof.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, a pair ot spaced terminapulley mem bers, driving means therefor, an endless element trained around said terminal members, a plurality of excavatin elements loosely connected to said endless element. means intermediate o't said terminal members for support-ing said endless element in raised posi-- tion, guide mechanism engageable with sam excavating elementsl for positively disposing` the latter in ground engaging` position at a selected point in the cycle of operation, and adjusting means 'for said guide mechanism llO to vary the angle and depth of penetration of said excavating elements.

1l. ln an excavating mechanism, a pair of spaced terminal pulley members, driving means therefor, an endless cable trained around said terminal members, a plurality of excavating buckets suspended from said endless cable, cable engaging and supporting means intermediate of said terminal members operative to support the flights of said cable in vertically spaced relation, and a guide mechanism for engaging said buckets at a selected point in their path of travel whereby to dispose said buckets in excavating position.

5. ln an excavating mechanism, a pair of spaced terminal pulley members, driving means therefor, an endless cable trained around said terminal members, a plurality of excavating buckets suspended from said endless cable, cable engaging and supporting means intermediate of said terminal members operative to support the flights of said cable in vertically spaced relation, aguide mechanism for engaging said buckets at a selected point in their path of travel whereby to dispose said buckets in excavating position, and means for dumping the contents of said buckets after their passage through said guide mechanism.

6. In an apparatus of the character described, a pair of vehicles located at a distance from each other, an upright power driven rotatable shaft carried by each of said vehicles, a pulley element carried by each shaft and rotatable therewith, an endless cable trained around said pulley elements, excavating buckets suspended from said cable, air upstanding post intermediate of said vehicles and in the path of travel of said cable and a pair of vertically spaced rotatable cable engaging and supporting members carried by said post whereby to support theiiights of said cable in vertically spaced relation.

7. In an apparatus of the character described, a pair of spaced apart vehicles, a power driven pulley element carried by each vehicle, an endless cable trained around said pulley elements, a plurality of excavating buckets suspended from said cable, a plurality of upstanding post members intermediate of said vehicles and in the path of travel of said cable, a pair of vertically spaced cable engaging and supporting members carried by said post members, the respective flights of said cable being trained around opposite sides of the supporting members on adjacent post members whereby one of said flights will be disposed above the other and will close the path thereof.

8. In an apparatus of the character described, a pair of spaced apart vehicles, a power driven pulley element carried by each vehicle, an endless cable trained around said pulley elements, a plurality of excavating buckets suspended from said cable, a plurality -of upstanding post members intermediate of said vehicles and in the path of travel of said cable, a pair of vertically spaced cable engaging and supporting members carried by said post members, the respective flights of said cable being trained around opposite sides of the supporting members of adjacent post members whereby one of said flights will be disposed above the other and will cross the path thereof, and a guide mechanism located in the path of travel of one of the flights of said cable and engageable with the excavating buckets whereby to dispose said buckets in excavating position.

9. In an apparatus of the character described, a pair of spaced apart vehicles, a power driven pulley element carried by each vehicle, an endless cable trained around said pulley elements, a plurality of excavating buckets suspended from said cable, a plurality of upstanding post members intermediate of said vehicles and in the path of travel of said cable, a pair of vertically spaced cable engaging and supporting members carried by said post members, the respective flights of said cable being trained around opposite sides of the supporting members of adjacent post members whereby one of said flights will be disposed above the other and will cross the path thereof, a guide mechanism located in the path of travel of one of the flights of said cable and engageable with the excavating buckets whereby to dispose said buckets in excavating position, and means carried between two of said upstanding posts for dumping the contents of said buckets after their passage through said guide mechanism.

10. In an apparatus of the character described, a pair of spaced apart vehicles, a power driven pulley element carried by each vehicle, an endless cable trained around said pulley elements, a plurality of excavating buckets suspended from said cable, a plurality of upstanding post members intermediate of said vehicles and in the path of travel of said cable, a pair of vertically spaced cable engaging and supporting members carried by said post members, the respective flights of said cable being trained around opposite sides of the supporting members of adjacent post members whereby one of said flights will be disposed above the other and will cross the path thereof, a guide mechanism located in the path of travel of one of the flights of said cable and engageable with the excavating buckets whereby to dispose said buckets in excavating position, and means for adjusting said guide mechanism whereby to vary the angle and depth of penetration of said excavating buckets.

LE ROY L. DEAN. 

